The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1935. FLOOD LESSONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 50, 28 February 1935, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1935. FLOOD LESSONS.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistavfie, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

A few days ago a visitor to NeAV Zealand expressed his appreciation of the bush seenery in the Urewera Country, and the hope that the forest would be preserved. He may not have realised that there was a second argument for such preservation. The forest is valuable not only as a scenic asset, but as Nature's safeguard against floods. Cut down the bush on the steep Urewera hills, and disastrous floods will certainly follow. It is a coincidence not to be passed over, 1 that at the time he spoke there were floods in Taranaki and in North Auckland. The deforestation factor in Taranaki is probably not so great as it is in North Auckland, for though Taranaki used to be heavily forested, the configuration of the low country makes it less liable to erosion, and Egmont, which feeds the province's streams, is still bush-clad. There is, however, quite enough evidence to show that Taranaki cannot afford to neglect its forests. Tho condition of Egmont's slopes governs the fortunes of one of the richest districts in New Zealand. If they were bared, Taranaki would be subject to such disastrous flooding as to threaten it with ruin. Now it is well known that the bush on Egmont is being destroyed by goats. Two years ago goat-hunters, working with the help of a Government subsidy, killed two thousand of these animals, but the withdrawal of the subsidy compelled cessation of operations. The latest floods should remind the people of Taranaki and the Government that this preservation of bush is urgent.

In North Auckland the results of overclearing of the forest are much plainer for the average person to see. Scarred hillsides, and slopes that have gone back to fern and scrub, tell their story. Hill country, deprived of the natural vegetation that is so efficient in holding rainfall, throws off the water quickly, and rivers rise rapidly. In the North, as in other parts of New Zealand, settlement has been pushed too far and too thoughtlessly. Much of the land would have been far more valuable if left in forest than it is cleared. Some day, and the sooner the better, this district, like others, will have to retrace its steps and replant denuded country. As yet, however, despite the repeated warnings of floods, we have no real national policy in this matter. We have a Forestry Department, but we have not yet decided where the edge of settlement shall stop. The conflicting interests of the Lands Department and the Forestry Department have not been reconciled. It is in the national interests that not another acre of bush should be cleared for settlement — at least until the consent has been obtained of a competent authority set up to take every factor into consideration. The land already cleared is sufficient for many times the present population.